If training is crucial for a professional, it is even more fundamental for an entrepreneur.

That’s especially true for Nikita Lukianets, whose lightbulb-moment business idea hit early, at the age of just 19, at a time when his determination to make a future for himself was built on little more than bravery. Back then, Nikita just didn’t have masses of experience and a solid foundation in management.

Nikita Lukianets – a young Ukrainian professional – was barely of age when he decided to launch the digital branding consultancy start-up LimeJam.

The idea stemmed from Nikita’s desire to launch himself into a solo venture, yet its wings were soon clipped by the limitations of the young founder’s managerial expertise. Without the necessary skills and comprehensive understanding of the world of enterprise, the business stagnates. Opportunities go ungrasped, while clarity of thought and impetus – key ingredients in the recipe of innovation – lack.

It was at this point that Nikita decide to invest in himself by going back to school.

His choice? An MBA. The destination? Milan, on account of its thriving design industry, and MIP, given its focus on engineering, technical ethos and markedly people-oriented approach.

For Nikita, every day spent at MIP was full of learning. Each lesson – whether theory-based or hands-on – became an idea to be implemented in his own start-up right away. New economic strategies, innovative HR techniques, different ways to deal with clients: Nikita drank MIP in, learned fast and put his newfound knowledge into practice, using LimeJam as a testing ground.

Once his MBA was over, Nikita was ready to enter the business world proper. He joined Microsoft Ukraine’s developer experience division, before taking up a leading role at BizSpark, a Microsoft programme providing support to start-ups. It was a unique opportunity that Nikita was able to seize with both hands thanks to the technical training and managerial mentality he developed during his time at the Milanese business school. MIP is well known for being a place of education, but it is also a promoter of interchange between different cultures and an incubator for the best talent.

Nikita’s story is the perfect example of how the kind of professional training on offer at MIP can often be the crucial missing link between what you want and what you can achieve.

Read Nikita Lukianets’ story here.